San Antonio's a city known for remembering the Alamo and restoring historic neighborhoods such as King William.

But the next step for preservationists in San Antonio could take a decidedly more modern twist: the buildings and neighborhoods constructed in the decades after World War II.

There's something of a revival of interest neighborhoods built in the 1950s and 1960s, which are hitting the 50-year mark when they can be considered officially “historic.” And it doesn't hurt that popular culture has rediscovered midcentury design, with the rise of shelter magazines such as Dwell and the popularity of TV shows such as “Mad Men” and “Pan Am” glamorizing the era.

Ann Benson McGlone, the city's former historic preservation officer, said midcentury buildings are starting to have a nostalgic draw.

“I think it has a generational appeal,” McGlone said. “For the kids getting out of college now and for people who are in their 30s, that was grandma's house.”

Neighborhoods such as Northwood Estates and Bel Meade, both near Alamo Heights; Shearer Hills, north of the Olmos Basin; and Terrell Hills and have some of the largest clusters of midcentury modern homes. Although formal efforts aren't under way, residents of Oak Hills, near the Oak Hills Country Club just north of Loop 410 and west of Interstate 10, have talked with the city about pursuing historic district status.

And Trinity University is hosting a symposium Feb. 18 that will focus on O'Neil Ford, the major regional modernist architect of his generation, and the designer of much of the distinctive Trinity campus and landscape. It's called “O'Neil Ford and the Future of Trinity University.”

“It's widely regarded as a terribly significant place of architecture, but it's also a place that's going to continue to grow and change,” said James “Rick” Lewis, senior lecturer at the University of Texas at San Antonio.

Graduate students in Lewis' preservation theory class have surveyed local midcentury homes, churches, offices and institutional buildings across San Antonio. It was a time when new technologies available after World War II — especially the large plates of glass — helped buildings become more open and airy. “All of a sudden, the idea of barbequing and entertaining outdoors and letting the kids run wild on the lawn is triggered by the casual, more open way of living,” Lewis said.

In San Antonio, architects like Ford included gestures to the region's heritage with features such as warm woodwork, Saltillo tile floors and handmade brick, Lewis said.

But Shanon Peterson, the city's historic preservation officer, said that sometimes the preservation of a midcentury building is a hard sell. If people remember its construction, they don't think it's historic, she said.

“So many people are like, ‘Please, it's been built since I've been born,'” Peterson said. “We want to tell the story of our community over time, and that's another piece of the story. We don't want all of it to be lost. You have to protect things so they have a change to get old.”